1. Do you know how many living species of zebra there are?
There are three living species of zebra.
a) Grevy’s zebra
b) Plains zebra
c) Mountain zebra
a) Grevy’s zebra:
It is the largest of all wild members of the Equidae family and is native to Kenya and Ethiopia.
It has distinctive characteristics that include long legs, long and rounded ears, narrow and closely placed stripes, a long neck, , a large head, and an erect mane.
It has an average life span of about 20 to 25 years.
Its overall appearance resembles that of a mule or donkey.
The average head-body length varies from 2.50 to 2.75 m, and its average weight is about 350 to 450 kg.
It is found in semi-arid grassland and scrubland areas.
Grevy’s zebra can manage to survive without drinking water for about 5 days.
b) Plains zebra:
They have broad black and white stripes as compared to the Grevy’s zebra species, with a short and erect mane.
Their weight varies from 220 to 330 kg, and their length varies from 217 to 246 cm.
They have short legs, a concave nose, a convex forehead, tufted hair, and an erect mane and are the most widespread of the three zebra species.
They are found in southern and eastern Africa.
There are about seven subspecies of the plains zebra. These are the i) Maneless zebra, ii) Grant’s zebra, iii) Crawshay’s zebra, iv) Chapman’s zebra, v) Burchell’s zebra, vi) Quagga, and vii) Selous’ zebra.
They are found in grassland as well as mountains, at altitudes up to 14000 feet.
c) Mountain zebra:
They have very bold black or dark brown colored stripes on their body.
Their average length varies from 2.1 to 2.6 m, and their weight varies from 210 to 375 kg.
They lack stripes on their bellies.
They are mainly found in southwestern Africa.
There are two subspecies of mountain zebra.
These are the Cape mountain zebra and Hartmann’s mountain zebra.
They have grid-like stripes on their rump and tough hooves.
Their tough hooves help them to climb mountains.
They are found in mountain areas of about 6500 feet above the ground.